Arkansas elected officials in Washington are jointly calling for campground improvements at the Albert Pike campground, where 20 people lost their lives in the flash flood on June 11th, according to a story at Little Rock’s KATV, Channel 7.
In a letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Senator Blanch Lincoln, Senator Mark Pryor, and Representative Mike Ross said:
We hope that going forward we can continue such a coordinated effort to cleanup, rebuild, and reopen this majestic campground. In doing so, we would like for you to work with the United States Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and state and local officials to determine how to improve emergency warning systems for campground visitors at Albert Pike. We know the rugged terrain and remote location of Albert Pike, conditions that exist at a number of campgrounds located in our country’s National Forests, pose cumbersome barriers to effective communication with the outside world. Innovative solutions will be needed to meet the challenges the terrain presents so we can help ensure the safety of the visitors in the area.
Read the rest of the article and letter at KATV, Channel 7.
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Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, September 13, 2009
On the Cliff Palace loop you may visit one of two cliff dwellings by guided tour, Cliff Palace or Balcony House. These sites can only be reached by a one-hour ranger-guided tour. Tickets for tours are purchased only at the Far View Visitor Center. Rangers begin the Cliff Palace tour from the overlook at the end of the entrance trail. To enter Cliff Palace on a guided tour, one must descend approximately 100 feet into the canyon on a steep trail that includes 120 uneven stone steps. Throughout the tour one will climb five eight foot ladders.
The photo is from the newest of my photo galleries and the second from Mesa Verde. The gallery includes images from Cliff Palace — a Puebloan culture cliff dwelling —, the Knife Edge Trail and more.
Gallery: Cliff Palace and More — September 13, 2009, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
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Image Galleries at Haw Creek.
Image Gallery:
Around the Upper Loop, September 13, 2007
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We were camped at West Yellowstone KOA several miles west of town for nearly a week in September 2007. Our camper was a Big Horn fifth wheel by Heartland. We were set up with satellite TV and satellite internet and had almost all of the conveniences of home.
For all of the conveniences, though, we found that we were not doing the kind of camping that we really preferred. We prefer national and state park and forest campgrounds, but found in some of those kind of campgrounds that maneuvering into sites that could accommodate the size of our 5th wheel was often difficult and, in some instances, there just were not any sites that we felt comfortable with trying to get into.
We now have a small motor home and are able to get into just about any campground that we want to with little or no difficulty. The only ones we can’t get into are those restricted to tent camping and those that we can’t get to with the camper. We’ve visited a couple of places where the curves were so tight that our 25 foot motor home was over the length limit. We’re also not quite yet prepared to go too many miles down an unpaved road.
In 2009, we camped in 4 national park* campgrounds, 4 nights in each one. We didn’t have satellite TV or internet and we were doing the kind of camping we really prefer.
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Image Galleries at Haw Creek.
* Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Mesa Verde National Park
Campground, Lake Fort Smith State Park, Arkansas, October 20, 2008
Located in a wooded valley in the Boston Mountains of the Arkansas Ozarks, the 259 acre Lake Fort Smith State Park reopened in the late Spring of 2008 four miles north of its original location, which was closed in early January, 2002. As a park reborn, with totally new facilities, it has 30 camp sites, a group lodging facility, picnic sites, a pavilion, marina with rental boats, a double lane boat ramp, a swimming pool, playground, and an 8,000 square foot visitor center with exhibit gallery, gift shop, a meeting/class room, a patio with an outdoor wood burning fireplace, and a great view of the lake and mountains. Activities for visitors include camping, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, backpacking, boating, hiking and mountain biking. The park borders lands of the Ozark National Forest.
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Park information
Gallery: Lake Fort Smith State Park
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Class C motorhomes, Elkmont Campground, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, May 4, 2009
In today’s economy, smaller may just be the ticket, at least for the near term, for many who are interested in RVing. Across the country, many surviving RV dealerships are downsizing their inventory, both in the number of units they carry on their lots and the size and type of units.
As well, many of the newer recreational vehicles may be more economical to operate. For instance, the two class c motorhomes in the picture above are probably about the same size. The Coachmen motorhome, with its v8 gasoline engine, will probably be lucky to achieve more than 8 to 10 miles per gallon. The Winnebago View, on the other hand, with it’s 3 liter Mercedes Benz diesel can easily achieve 15 or more miles per gallon, even when towing a small vehicle. Some without a towed vehicle have even achieved over 20 miles per gallon.
Gallery:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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The is one of two large offroad recreational vehicles we saw parked at one of the trailheads in Arches National Park on September 24, 2007. The other offroad RV was of similar size but on a different truck chassis. Later we saw both vehicles again, parked at a picnic area.
This RV is built on a Mercedes Benz Unimog frame.
September 24, 2009
Arches National Park
Gallery: Arches National Park
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Estes Park, September 5, 2009
Located in Larimer County, Colorado, Estes Park is a popular summer resort and the eastern entrance into Rocky Mountain National Park. The town lies along the Big Thompson River. It is named after Joel Estes, who founded the town in 1859.
Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous road in the United States, runs from Estes Park through Rocky Mountain National park to Grand Lake on the western side of the continental divide.
The town suffered severe damage in July 1982 from flooding caused by the failure of Lawn Lake Dam. In October, 2009, a fire in the Park Theatre Mall – caused by a natural gas water heater in a small closet – destroyed eleven businesses and several apartments. The building had been built in 1914 to house Stanley Steamers.
Gallery:
Estes Park and then up to Trail Ridge – September 5, 2009
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On September 24, 2007, we saw this big boy parked at one of the trailheads in Arches National Park. There was another large offroad recreational vehicle parked nearby. Later we saw both vehicles again, parked at a picnic area.
As best as I’ve been able to find online, this RV is built on a Mercedes Benz Unimog frame.
Gallery: Arches National Park
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